1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, a system and a computer program product for providing a site as a collection of software web objects. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method, a system and a computer program product for providing a site as a collection of web objects that can be manipulated by a set of users having assigned privileges defined by permissions associated with each software web object in the collection of objects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Traditionally, web sites have been considered to be all resource files organized and accessible from a given domain name associated with a system, such as a server. Typically, a web sites has a common look, feel and navigational structure through the web site. Computer program code is implemented to provide the common look, feel and navigational structure of a web site. Portals have been implemented to provide a gate to access a plurality of web objects of a web site for simultaneous viewing on a display. Most companies and organizations provide different types of portals for a variety of purposes including portals for the general public, intranet portals for their employees, and extranet portals for their customers, vendors, supplies and other parties with whom they transact business.
The complexity and cost of developing, deploying, administering and continually enhancing portals is tremendous. In developing, deploying and maintaining portals it is often necessary to implement objects of a web site. Typically, developing, deploying, administering and continually enhancing portals, such as implementing web objects of a web site provided by a portal, requires the physical selection and transfer of files to systems desired to implement web objects of a web site in a portal. Alternatively, the entire web site must be archived in a file and transferred to a system in order to implement the web site. This type of development, deployment, administration and continuous enhancement of portals is complex, costly and prone to error. Additionally, the process requires the manual transfer of code and libraries to a system. Lastly, aspects of a web site cannot be made available to an intended group of users for commercial use. Companies and organizations are forced to maintain staffs of highly skilled engineers and content developers, or to outsource these tasks. Meanwhile, Internet-related technologies are proliferating and maturing, and Internet users' expectations continue to increase. Maintaining an effective portal often competes with and detracts from the resources available for an organization's primary goals.
There is a need for a new method of administrating web objects on a portal framework as a collection of software objects. There is a need for a method of managing the software object employing a set of users granted privileges associated with respective objects in the collection of software objects. There is a need for a new method of sharing objects of web sites in a between web site. There is a need for a new method of distributing components to all systems on a portal systems framework. There is a need for a new method of allowing the packaging and commercial sale of components to portals.